Tokyo tops cost of living table – but London rises to 16th place
TOKYO has regained its position as the most expensive major city in the world, according to figures released today, while the ongoing financial crisis has pushed down the relative cost of living in the Eurozone.
Research by the Economist Intelligence Unit shows uncertainty surrounding the single currency has made it relatively cheaper to live in cities such as Frankfurt, Brussels and Dublin. London rose one position to joint 16th place.
“Asian cities have also been rising on the back of wage growth and economic optimism,” said the report’s editor Jon Copestake. “This means that over half of the 20 most expensive cities now hail from Asia and Australasia.”
The report considers more than 160 items in large cities, including the price of a litre of petrol, a loaf of bread and a bottle of table wine. The cost of these items are then converted into US dollars and weighted in order to achieve comparative indices.
Caracas makes the top ten most expensive currency due to substantial price volatility and a fixed exchange rate between the Venezuelan bolívar and the dollar.
Karachi in Pakistan is the cheapest major city on the list.